FUNNY STORY... I totally had this chapter finished on my hard drive for MONTHS and was working on the next chapter. I forgot to post it up.
I AM SO SORRY.
Anyways, on to this chapter! I'm sorry, I'm getting sloppy.
Kara woke up groggily to the sound of her phone ringing from inside her purse. She groped for it and plucked it out, swiping at the answer button blindly.
"Hello?"
"I said call me, Kara Zorel, not 'ignore my messages'!" Clark Kent's voice boomed across the line.
"Oh, Clark. I'm so sorry." Kara stretched and yawned. "Really, I am-"
"Don't apologize. I'm so worried about you! Ma and Pa are worried too, they called you a couple of times-"
Kara checked her phone and winced at the plethora of missed calls and messages from different numbers, a large bulk from Ma and Pa Kent. It was six-fifty in the evening and she had slept for a few hours. She felt a bit more rested but still quite sore all over.
"-worried sick. They even tried to get a hold of your aunt-"
"Clark, Clark, I'm alright." Kara tried to sooth her cousin. She understood, really, why he was panicking, without having to voice his concern. They were each other's only family. Kara did have her Aunt Astra, but her aunt was in and out of her life. Clark and her, they were solid and had always been there for each other.
"Kara." Clark's voice was fond, but several octaves higher with the emotions he was feeling. "It really scared me, you know?"
"I know. But I'm fine. Shadow Agent saved me."
"I had to find out through Lois who heard through Superwoman-"
"Clark," Kara blew out a breath of air, touched but starting to get annoyed. Clark was older than her but seemed to ricochet between mother hen and anxious child sometimes. "It's alright. And I promise I'll text Ma and Pa Kent right now."
"Like now?"
"Hold on."
Kara quickly typed out, 'Alive! Sorry to have worried you, will call soon, talking to Clark!'
"Sent."
"Alright. You resting?"
"Yeah, Cat gave me the rest of this week and next off." Kara yawned and stretched, jumping a bit when there was a knocking at her door. "Huh."
"What?"
"Someone's at my door." Kara walked to the door and turned on the lights in the house while she was at it. It had gotten dark while she took her nap. Opening the door revealed Alex Danvers, arms laden with take-out packages that smelled heavenly.
"I come bearing gifts." Alex brandished her take-out boxes.
"Ohmygod, food. Clark, I'll call you later." Kara hangs up and tucks her phone into her back pocket. She reached forward, trying to help take some of the bags out of Alex's hands but the scientist pulls back, grinning.
"I got this. Set the table? Bowls and spoons, and I have take-away chopsticks."
Kara nodded wordlessly, focused on liberating the delicious-smelling food from the bags Alex had brought. Alex removed her boots at the door and lined them up properly before walking in.
"What are we having?" Kara had set the table in record time and was now hovering over Alex's shoulder, pressed up against her back.
"Come on, some space." Alex chuckled, but didn't do anything to shake Kara off, who was still leaning against her back eagerly as Alex unpacked.
"Oh god that smells so good," Kara groaned, eyes closed and too deep in her food-induced high to notice Alex freeze at the noise she made, before continuing on.
"It's kamjatang, pork bone soup." Alex displayed her spread. "And some side-dishes they threw in."
Kara jumped back, clapping her hands enthusiastically. She'd been hoping some of the people at work could go with her to try this dish when she saw it on a food show on tv one day, but nobody was up for spices for some reason.
"Let's eat!" Kara sat down quickly, watching carefully as Alex pushed one bowl closer to her and also gave her a container full of purple rice. Alex was carefully scraping the meat off the bone with her chopsticks which fell off easily, and it looked juicy and tender. Kara mimicked what Alex was doing and threw the meatless bone into one of the empty styrofoam soup containers afterwards, like Alex did.
"Is this the first time you've had this?" Alex guessed, watching Kara watching her.
"Yeah! I always wanted to try it." Kara coughed, her excitement stressing out her sore throat.
"Well, there's no right or wrong way to eat it. But I just like to take all the meat off first, then I just have just meat and soup." Alex explained seriously, as if she was explaining something super important. "Then I eat meat, soup, and rice, and intersperse it with the sides."
"Okay, so this side is kimchi."
"Yup."
"And this is some kind of pickled cucumbers."
"Yeah, they're delicious."
"And this?"
"That's… some kind of bean curd. And that's bean sprouts, and that's like potato or something. And there's a side of korean pancakes."
Their conversation revolved around the food and then to other food that they would like to try, both of them as serious as can be about the things they eat or want to eat. Really, Kara was quietly ecstatic that there was someone who seemed to be as into food as she was.
"So we've gone through all the meal-foods," Alex wiped her mouth on her napkin and stared at Kara with intensity. "How do you feel about dessert? Namely ice cream?"
"You are my new best friend if you have some ice cream." Kara announced without hesitation. Alex smiled at that, a sly, little half-smile that was really familiar for some reason and made Kara's stomach do a little flip.
"Hold that thought." Alex got up from the table and strode out of Kara's apartment, coming back quickly with two tubs of ice-cream. "Mango and green tea ice cream."
"Never leave me." Kara's exclamation was heartfelt. "Please stay forever."
"If you like it then you gotta put a ring on it." Alex grinned.
Kara had to bite her tongue to stop herself from blurting out a proposal.
"I'll grab some spoons and bowls." Kara hurried away, trying to calm her racing heart. Alex helped put all the garbage back in the takeout bags so she can throw them away easier, stacking the dishes and used utensils in Kara's dishwasher.
It wasn't long before they were sitting shoulder to shoulder on the couch, with a bowl of ice-cream each and the tubs in Kara's fridge, flipping through Netflix and settling on watching Homeward Bound.
"Talking animals is the best thing ever." Kara beamed at Alex. The other woman smiled back.
"Yeah." Alex settled back on the couch with a happy sigh. It was extremely natural for Kara to shuffle down a bit so that she could lean her head against Alex's shoulder. It just felt so easy, in her apartment to forget everything else but the two of them. Just watching a movie, speaking in low tones to each other. Alex's low chuckle reverberated through Kara's body pleasantly. Kara didn't know when she had fallen asleep again, but her Alex-pillow shifting a bit woke her up.
"Oh, sorry." Alex apologized, freezing in her seat. Kara blinked and looked down, where Alex was trying to retrieve Kara's bowl from her clenched hands.
"I didn't want you to drop the bowl." Alex explained.
"Oh, thanks." Kara struggled to sit up a bit straighter, sleep-drunk and warm, she snuggled tighter into Alex's side, nudging against the underside of Alex's jaw, leaning up to press her nose against Alex's neck with a sigh. Then Kara froze, waking up a bit more. It suddenly felt way too hot. They both held their breath, too close together but feeling that they were also way too far apart. The blonde was suddenly way too aware of how her breathing had quickened and Alex smelled like… ice cream. Kara felt like her heart was going to leap out of her chest. And Alex had moved back just slightly so she could look at Kara, an unreadable expression on her face and… seemed to be… ducking her face closer…
The sound of Alex's phone vibrating on the coffee table, startled them. Kara could see a picture of Laurel Lee with her arm slung around a smirking Alex on the screen of the phone. Alex and Laurel both looked like they had partied all night in the picture, hair mussed and eyes shining. Happy. It was like a splash of cold water.
Guiltily, Kara shifted away from Alex as the scientist picked up her phone with a little shake of her head.
"Sorry, Kara." Alex apologized. "I gotta take this."
"Yeah, sure, um, go ahead." Kara busied herself by getting off the couch to move the bowls and spoons into the dishwasher. She didn't mean to eavesdrop but she couldn't help it.
"Hey...no. Yeah… well you didn't catch me at the best time-What am I wearing… I'm not answering this question-I'm not wearing anything-no. That's not what I meant." Alex groaned into the phone. "I'm definitely wearing something but I don't want to play this game with you-no. No, Laurel. Stop."
Kara turned on the faucet to fill her kettle as Alex wandered out onto her balcony, now laughing at whatever Laurel had said on the phone.
'I'm not a homewrecker. I'm not a homewrecker.' Kara squeezed her eyes tightly shut and just repeated that phrase in her head again and again.
"Hey, you alright?" Alex's hand on Kara's shoulder jolted her back to the present.
"Oh. Um, yeah. I'm fine." Kara squeaked. Alex chuckled again, a low throaty sound that made Kara shiver.
"Well, wanna get back to the movie?" Alex motioned with her head, still with that soft look on her face that Kara was sure would be burned into her memory forever.
"Was that Laurel on the phone?" Kara turned away to put the kettle on the stove.
"Yeah, she just wanted to ask how you were feeling."
That made Kara feel even worse! Laurel was such a nice person!
"Um, not so good-"
"Are you getting dizzy? Any nausea?" Alex was in her person space again, holding her face gently. "Could you look up for me? Just want to check your pupils-"
"No, I'm, I guess I'm just tired." Kara's giggle sounded high and manic in her own ears.
"Well, you did fall asleep on me." Alex nodded, just way too understanding for Kara to handle. "Um, but hey, can I get your phone number? Just to, you know, check up on you."
"Oh, oh! We never did exchange phone numbers. Um, sure." Kara took the proffered phone from Alex and put her number in. Alex took it back and quickly sent out a message. Kara's phone buzzing from somewhere in the apartment told the both of them that the message was received.
"Alright, I'll let you rest." Alex went to the door and Kara waited patiently for Alex to slip into her worn boots which, honest to goodness, made Alex look super sexy.
"So," Alex straightened up and tucked her hands into her pockets. The brief run of emotions on Alex's face from nervousness to determination was barely perceptible. "Kara."
"Alex." Kara smiled. Alex smiled back, her hand came out to touch Kara gently at the side of her jaw, just holding her in place.
"Goodnight." Alex leaned forward and it seemed like she was going in for a kiss so Kara panicked and jerked her head and accidentally headbutted Alex in the eye.
"Oh my god I'm sorry!" Kara flailed her hands, embarrassment colouring her cheeks. Her head really hurt! Alex had a skull-or an eye-made of stone or something! "Are you okay."
"Yeah, I'm fine, I'm fine." Alex waved her off, laughing too and flushing attractively. Kara really wanted to kiss her.
"Kara. Um. I guess I should just ask. Could I kiss you?" Alex was fidgeting nervously. Kara's first instinct was to say HELL YES, but then she remembered Laurel.
"Alex," Kara winced. "I… I can't."
"Oh. Oh, I'm sorry." The crestfallen look on Alex's face was quickly replaced by a polite smile. "I'm so sorry, I thought-I assumed-well, it doesn't matter. I'm sorry. I'll go. I hope you feel better."
"No, Alex, wait-"
"Just," Alex was almost out the door, but turned back around. "Could you please not tell anybody? I just... if Laurel found out, she would-"
"When would I ever see Laurel?" Kara bristled a bit, feeling… disappointed in Alex. So the doctor did have a fault. Was she a cheater? A serial cheater? Was all the niceness just a facade?
"You're right. Well. Please don't tell anyone. Like… anyone. Please." Alex pinched the bridge of her nose, as if a headache was coming on. "I'll never hear the end of it."
Even if the doctor was a no-good lying cheater, the stressed, depressed look on Alex's face really made Kara crumble.
"Yeah, sure." Kara said quietly.
"Could we still…" Alex struggled with her words, finally spitting them out. "Could we still be friends? Or did I ruin any chance of that happening?"
"No, Alex, yeah. Of course."
Alex stared at Kara blankly.
"I mean, no, you didn't ruin the chance of us being friends, and yeah, we can still be friends, of course." Kara clarified.
The beaming smile on Alex's face made Kara's traitorous heart skip a beat.
"Thanks, Kara. I'm sorry again." Alex gave a formal little nod. "And whoever you're seeing right now is really lucky."
Kara didn't even get the chance to correct Alex as the doctor left quietly. The blonde cleaned up everything as best as she could and even though she had been lying a bit when she had claimed she was tired at first, now she really was and groggily made it to bed. Usually being in bed made her unbelievably happy and relaxed, but now Kara snuggled into the blankets, seeking comfort that was sorely missing.